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1989 Australian Grand Prix
5 November |number = 484 |officialname = LIV Foster's Australian Grand Prix |circuit = Adelaide Street Circuit |location = Adelaide, South Australia |circuittype = Temporary street circuit |lapdistance = 3.780 |laps = 70 |distance = 264.600 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:16.665 |fastestlap = 1:38.480 |fastestlapdriver = Satoru Nakajima |fastestlapnation = JPN |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 64 |winner = Thierry Boutsen |winnernation = BEL |winnerteam = |second = Alessandro Nannini |secondnation = ITA |secondteam = |third = Riccardo Patrese |thirdnation = ITA |thirdteam = |scheduledlaps = 81 }} The LIV Foster's Australian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 1989 Australian Grand Prix, was the sixteenth and final round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged on the 5 November 1989 at the Adelaide Street Circuit.'Australian GP, 1989', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr484.html, (Accessed 23/04/2019) The race was held in very wet conditions, resulting in freshly crowned Champion Alain Prost withdrawing from the race, as Thierry Boutsen slithered to victory. The build-up to the race would be dominated by the fallout from the Japanese Grand Prix, where Ayrton Senna had been disqualified to hand Prost the title. Following the race had appealed against the decision, while Senna proclaimed that FISA and FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre had wanted Prost to take the crown. As such, Senna still had a chance at claiming the crown in Australia, although only if he won in Adelaide and won his appeal. The Brazilian duly streaked to pole position during qualifying, ahead of teammate Prost, while Pierluigi Martini caused a stir by claiming third in the . Raceday dawned wet and wild, with heavy rain ensuring that there were long delays to proceedings. Indeed, the conditions were so poor that Prost led a call for the race to be abandoned, and almost refused to take the start when the field were assembled on the grid. Yet, Prost would get the jump on Senna at the start, only for Senna to throw a huge lunge at the Frenchman into the first corner to re-claim the lead. Behind, JJ Lehto crashed at the first chicane amid a series of minor clashes, blocking the circuit and hence causing the race to be stopped. This delay caused even more talk of abandoning the race, with Prost flat out refusing to take the restart. Ultimately, in-spite of having a fair amount of support, the Frenchman was the only driver not on the grid for the restart, and hence potentially gifted the lead to Senna. Senna unsurprisingly established a lead during the restart, and duly powered off to deny anyone else a shot of victory. His bid was aided by a series of incidents to thin the field behind, with the spray proving almost impossible to drive through. Indeed, Senna's lead was so immense that he was able to survive several spins without losing too much time. That was, until he completely misjudged the pace of Martin Brundle and destroyed both his and the Brit's cars, and hence ended his bid for the title. That left Boutsen at the head of the field, with teammate Riccardo Patrese in second. They subsequently crossed the line at the two hour time-limit split by Alessandro Nannini, who made a late bid for second, while Satoru Nakajima, Emanuele Pirro and Martini survived long enough to claim the final points of the season. McLaren's appeal against Senna's Japan disqualification was rejected a month after the race, leaving Prost as the 1989 World Champion by sixteen points. McLaren-Honda, meanwhile, were still declared as the Constructors' Champions, while René Arnoux decided to call time on his F1 career after 149 Grand Prix. Background Ayrton Senna's controversial disqualification from the Japanese Grand Prix had effectively brought the FIA Formula One World Championship to a conclusion, with Alain Prost declared as the Champion with a race to spare. Indeed, the Frenchman would head to Australia with a sixteen point advantage over the Brazilian, with Senna only able to score a maximum of nine. The Brazilian hence had to settle for second, while Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese would battle for third at the finale. had another rare double non-score in Japan, meaning their title winning advantage in the Constructors' Championship had been reduced. Indeed, had climbed back into second after a double podium, moving to within 80 points of the Championship leaders. They would, however, have to fight to secure second in Australian, for were just five behind in third. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Results The full pre-qualifying results for the are outlined below: Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. Milestones * René Arnoux made his 149th and final Grand Prix start.'16. Australia 1989', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1989/australie.aspx, (Accessed 23/04/2019) * Ivan Capelli made his 50th Grand Prix appearance. * Tenth entry for Emanuele Pirro.'1989 Australian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1989&gp=Australian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 23/04/2019) * Second career victory for Thierry Boutsen. * registered their 42nd win as a constructor. ** claimed their 22nd triumph as an engine supplier. * Maiden fastest lap for Satoru Nakajima. ** Third and final fastest lap recorded by a engine. Standings The bitterly fought FIA Formula One World Championship finally came to its conclusion in Australia, with Alain Prost able to collect his third World Championship by sixteen points. Ayrton Senna was his closest challenger come the end of the season in second, while Riccardo Patrese broke into the top three at the final hurdle, 36 off the lead. Nigel Mansell hence slipped to fourth on the final day, a point ahead of Thierry Boutsen. In the Constructors' Championship, meanwhile, rounded out the season with 141 points to their name, almost 60 shy of their tally from . That was, however, more than enough to see them crowned as Champions for the second season running, with 64 behind in second. Third went to the scarlet s, while and completed the top five ahead of . Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Australian Grand Prix Category:1989 Grands Prix